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Best Of The Represses – May 2017

Almost half way through the year already. Not much more you can add to that really is there? As far as recent represses are concerned the quality is in the eye of the beholder, and my eye IS pure quality so I’m pretty sure, once again, there are only the slimmest of pickings.

It isn’t always going to be like this though. A rumour, floating on the breeze like the lightest feather of hope, says that several represses of classic Aux 88 material are on the way. How real this is, God only knows, and whether any more Direct Beat material will later be available is unknown. Regardless, it’s a start. And long overdue. Elsewhere Metroplex’s current policy of releasing their own records continues, even if it has gone a little strange. Represses of Rob Hood’s seminal The Vision project, and Juan Atkins’ own Jazz Is The Teacher are inbound from Metroplex itself, and DJ Bone’s phenomenal Riding The Thin Line EP will also be out again in July. Except not on Metroplex….the repress will be handled by UK label Another Day. No, we don’t know why. Neither does DJ Bone for that matter. The important thing is that we’ll be able to buy it again, but the geek in me would rather still have the Metroplex artwork in place. Oh well. There’s also a bunch of Theo Parrish stuff kicking about, so there’s that.

Right, here are some quick picks for your ears to get all excited about.

Photek – T’Raenon (Applied Rhythmic Technology)

Of all the electronic genres which have come and gone over the last 30 years only Drum and Bass still feels unwilling to swap its rare promise to shock for the comfort of middle-aged musical life. Listening back now to some of those older records you can still be struck by their fierceness, and the fact that they still sound like little else. Even so, represses of classic D&B has yet to reach the same heights as house and techno. I think that’s a shame.

Still, we’ve had the occasional little blast, and ART deliver a pretty special addition here in the shape of Photek’s T’Raenon. Released originally in 1996, the record came in the middle of a phenomenal run which is book-ended by Natural Born Killa (itself repressed last year) and Modus Operandi. While T’Raenon maybe isn’t quite as strong when it comes to the insane, cinematic darkness and twisting beats that Rupert Parkes is known for, it still carries a gorgeous and haunting potency which time has done little to diminish, and is some of the deepest, most liquid funk to come out of the genre. Kanei on the flip kicks it down a notch with a tune best played at sunrise on Mars. Get more of the back catalogue out, lads. Please.

Mystic Bill – Track From The Vault Vol 1 (Mint Condition)

William Torres, AKA Mystic Bill, seems to be going through a little bit of a renaissance at the moments as this record is, by my count, the fourth or fifth to appear in the last couple of years after a long time when his name would draw recognition from only the oldest of heads. It’s a good thing too; this is house music done right, with no quarters given, and fuelled by a deep and abiding love of jacking machine music. Released way back in 1997 on Relief Records (as Classics From The Vault) it’s actually a pretty primo primer for the better sounds which came out of that most capricious of labels. Funnelling in almost ghetto style rhythms, tight silicon soul, bursts of spacey jazz, and touches of acid, it jumps across the gap of the last twenty years to end up sounding every bit as vital and modern as that record you bought yesterday. In fact, it’s probably better because it carries within its DNA enough attitude to floor a dancefloor full of elephants. Worth buying for the shuffling, grimy, acid-tinged funk of Late Night At The Music Box alone. Shout out to the Trax Mystic Bill sampler which is just out as well – some damn fne music there too.

Orinoco – Stolen Moments (Flash Forward)

Although this was actually repressed a year ago as a sort of limited edition deal, there seems to be some new copies of it floating around, which is good because this is a very special record. Out way, way, WAY back in 1991, Orinoco hails from Italy, and was picked up by pretty much every one of those DJs you’ve heard me banging on about, including Derrick May. And if that isn’t a seal of quality I don’t know what is.

It’s one of those rare records which you can describe as being ‘of it’s time’ without being cruel. It’s a wide-eyed affair which draws on acid, tribal techno and something Orbital-like to create some warm, twisting music which just seems to float there in your head. While Stolen Moments and Echo are a pair of wobbling belters, replete with the sort of dripping chord progressions, dreamy synths and bleepy leads that’ll have you rethinking whether dungarees and bandanas were as shite an idea as they now seem (hint: They ARE as shite as they now seem) they both sound like nothing else around just now. The other two tracks, Orinoco itself and the quite frankly brilliant Tribal Echo will just do a number of you and leave you doing one of those embarrassing shuffle dances around the house. Buy it and rejoice as reality turns into a rubbish and wonderfully compelling day-glo, early 90s dance music video featuring fractals. Lots and lots of fractals. Lots of fractals.